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So you want to know how to record Youtube videos?

You’re not alone. Last week I had another voice teacher contact me to ask about a student of theirs.

The student wants to start recording their own Youtube singing videos, and has no idea where to begin.

Turns out, the teacher felt about the same and didn’t know where to start! And I don’t blame them! It’s a confusing world out there for those sorts of things so as I was going to be blogging on this material anyway, I sent them a run-down on things I’ve found and what I would recommend.

Youtube channel material

If someone is looking to record Youtube style videos AND is just starting out, I’d opt for an all-in-one solution rather than separate microphones and separate cameras – i.e. there are devices that record high quality stereo audio AND HD video together, and put them into a single file for uploading to the internet. It means there’s no separate microphones, recording interfaces, new software that you need to learn etc. Instead, an all-in-one solution requires you to just connect up the device to the computer after recording a video, and then you’re done. No microphone cables, working out software, etc, it just records, then uploads.

In particular, it’s not just the acquisition of new equipment that poses a financial and technological challenge, there’s also the requirement to get a good sound from the combination… which can be a challenge for the uninitiated, and I certainly don’t consider myself the master there.

By opting for an all-in-one, your sound and configuration options are more restricted (not that you’re getting a bad sound, it’s just fixed), but the BIG upside is that if you LIKE the sound it will always be the same = simple recording in one go.

Within this category of all-in-one options, there are at least three main options folks can go down. There are obviously others but these are the three main branches I think folks are best to can look at:

Option 1: Zoom Devices

There’s one name in particular that stands out above the rest for these sorts of hand-held all-in-one devices, and that’s Zoom.

Q4 – here is around – £249 – it appears that the video is indeed true HD.

They are very simple and straightforward to use. I’ve had 3 or 4 students use them for recording their lessons, and I’ve even had some band members say they use them to record gigs and practice sessions for rewatching and assessing what to improve. So it’s certainly multi-purpose for all of you aspiring to improve your stage presence and singing!

Option 2: Sony

There is nowhere near the same level of buzz around the Sony offerings compared to the Zoom offerings, however that doesn’t mean they are worse. Zoom have just been doing it for longer, and have a wider range of options, and also a big range of older products available for cheaper.

MV1 – http://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/music-video-recorder/hdr-mv1 – around £220

Option 3: Use an iPhone!

No, seriously, this works GREAT!

With the advance of modern technology meaning everything but the kitchen sink can be put only a phone, more and more people are turning to iPhones for recording their audio and video together.

When student’s record their lessons, they often use the memo recording on the iPhone. The microphone quality on the iPhone is really quite impressive. It can distort easily, but you very quickly learn where to place the phone whilst recording to minimise this.

When you use the video camera feature, particularly in strong daylight, you get some INCREDIBLE quality video for a mobile device.

Instant upload…
What’s even better is that if you have the Youtube app on your phone, when you finish recording a video you can click the ‘share’ button, and you will be given to directly share and immediately upload that video to your own Youtube channel.

This means that anytime you fancy recording a video you can hit record, then click upload – and it’s done! That level of convenience is unmatched by any other device other than mobile phones at the moment, and the iPhone is ahead of the competition in my opinion. Of course your own phone might do this, but you’d need to test it to see how good it is. Technology is improving all the time, but in my opinion the iPhone is presently the number one choice for convenience and quality.

As the iPhone has a pretty awesome microphone (albeit fragile and overly sensitive to loud pops and bangs, but you can easily learn how to work around this), and a pretty decent camera (particularly when in good light), it’s exceedingly hard to beat this option if you already have an iPhone.

A little tip for home made music videos…
This is a cool one.

Because so many people have iPhones, the great thing is that you can use your friends to make multi-angle videos. E.g. you’re all out at a karaoke event or just singing at home… you each use your iPhone to record someone singing at the same time, then share the videos together. You can edit them together to create a really dynamic and engaging multi-angle video shoot for absolutely nothing…. crowd-sharing at its finest!

One other thing…
You CAN get microphone modules to plug into the bottom of the iPhone and provide higher quality microphone input (e.g. Rode microphones offer something like this)… but at this stage I think just ONE device is the best route to send an inexperienced singer down, particularly if they want todo their own Youtube channel.

My suggestion

Use the iPhone if you’ve got it. Either way, play with your own phone’s video and recording function. The iPhone reeeeally hard to beat it for how functional and easy to use it is. If they already have one it’s a no brainer. If they DON’T, then the Zoom Q2HD would be a good start. If they start doing small gigs then the Q4 or Sony MV1 would be the next step up.

Hope that helps! Look forward to catching you again sometime soon.

Learn More: Related Articles

If you want to learn more about recording, you can find out more by visiting these related articles:
Recorded vs Live Performance: Which is harder?
Recording Studio on a Budget
How to Sing When Recording
Vocal Comping to Get the Best Vocal Take
Live vs Recorded Vocals: Our own double standards
Five Common Vocal Misconceptions (check number 5)

Making priorities: we all suck at it, and here’s why

Firstly, I owe you all an apology. It’s been verrry quiet on my blog in the last 2 months.

Why? Because my wife (Sarah) and I had our very first child in that time. Our beautiful daughter Isla was born on May 3, 2014, 9 lbs 15 oz, and she is an utter dreamboat.

Secondly, I want to say that… frankly, I’m not sorry at all. Why? Because of today’s topic: priorities.

I want every single one of you to feel the POWER that having priorities has on your life and your productivity and view your life and activities differently.

We made this decision a long time ago…

My wife and I knew we wanted kids from when we started dating. We discussed it and knew it was something we both wanted for the future. We kept discussing it every so often to decide whether we wanted to take action now or later. Eventually, we decided in late 2012 that in 2013 we were to move towards having kids. We knew we were officially pregnant from August 2013. This resulted in our daughter Isla being born in May of 2014. And now our priority is to spend as much time as possible together with Isla. It’s that simple. So I’ve taken a lot of time off to look after Sarah recovering from labour, and I’ve taken extra holiday time within the first 8 weeks just to spend time with them both.

It’s because of this, I haven’t got round to doing a recent blog post. And I ain’t even remotely sorry, because I made my family a priority and this COMPLETELY changes and defines my daily activities.

Are you wasting your time?

How many times do we keep getting dragged into activities that are not congruent with our life goals? The student that has an exam that allegedly matters to them, yet you spend their days procrastinating and their evenings at parties. The lawyer that says their family matters yet they work long hours and nights away for the sake of supporting their family, yet they are never around. The musician that insists music is their passion but they are constantly out socialising and never practicing.

Do you see how their actions are totally incongruent with their alleged goals? It’s easy to laugh it off, but when you consider how far they are away from their goals and how easy it is to go nowhere fast, it’s not that amusing… and when you realise that every single one of us is doing stuff that is actually STOPPING US FROM ACHIEVING OUR PRIORITIES, it suddenly stops being a laughing matter.

What are your priorities?

Step 1: THE QUALITATIVE Consider the qualitative goals and priorities you have for your life. What stuff are you looking to achieve? Write them down. Seriously write them down!

Step 2: THE QUANTITATIVE Now, if those are your priorities, what activities MUST you be doing in a week to ensure you achieve them (e.g. if you’re a musician, PRACTICE and STUDY should be a regular and essential part of your week… otherwise you’re just kidding yourself). Write them down. Seriously, write those bloody things down!

Step 3: THE IMPLEMENTATION Put these activities in your diary. If you don’t put them in the diary, they won’t get done. Simple as that. If you put those activities in your diary, and give the most important activities the best parts of your day, you will start to see BIG results and changes in the areas you want to change. If you don’t, you won’t. Again, it’s that simple.

Step 4: THE PRUNING Theoretically this is optional, but in reality it’s essential. Look at your existing diary, and consider what you are doing that is getting in the way of your goals. E.g. If you’re a workaholic, staying late at the office is not congruent to a good family life. Just factoring in 1 hour on a Saturday morning won’t be enough. So find out what is getting in the way, and cross it out of your diary.

When you go through this process of focusing on your priorities, and making sure your behaviour and daily activities are 100% in line with those goals, you will start to see BIG changes… and you’ll also feel totally unashamed and unapologetic (like the top of the blog post!) when you spend your time moving towards your goals.

Stop wasting your time and start seeing your priorities become a reality…

This was meant to be a fun post but with a simultaneously serious exercise for all of you here today. I seriously hope you can see the power in reassessing your daily activities, and really making whatever your goals are your #1 priority.

Best of luck!